Chapter 9: Head-Start

The king approached Pepsi.

"Has the test concluded?"

"Yup!"

"Hm." The king grunted. "Have you collected the necessary data?"

"I got everything from the highest kill count to the most damage dealt! Though I don't think your Highness has that much to react to."

Gabriel was still very confused. His head hurt like hell after the whole illusion experience. Thankfully, the pains and wounds of that imaginary world did not transfer to the real one.

But even then, he could not help but feel betrayed. Even though it was nothing more than a simulation, they did not let him know of that and Gabriel felt a very real fear throughout the whole experience.

Or maybe, what if they were meant to know this would happen? What if the king has sent them a message, but it did not deliver thanks to a mistake?

There was only one way of finding out the truth.

"Excuse me," Gabriel leaned closer to the king. "I don't think we have been informed about the——"

Bang!

Before he could have finished his question, the flat side of a steel halberd hit him right in his face. This attack was so powerful, that he got launched out of his chair! The boys around him recoiled with fear and even Pepon sobered up from the sudden act of violence.

It was one of the guards who attacked Gabriel. His eyes were red from anger.

"How dare a trash like you talk to the king? Know your place, dog!"

The king patted his soldier on the back.

"That's enough. Get back in line!"

"Yessir!"

The king looked way less friendly than before. He did not even flinch as his summoned hero got beaten so savagely.

As Gabriel recollected himself, he walked back to his chair and sat down. There was blood leaking out of his mouth, which he gently patted away with a napkin.

Pepsi bore a sadistic smile as the events unfolded. This smile was quickly hidden away as the king turned to him once more.

"Shall we continue?"

"Yes, Pepsi." The king nodded.

"Alright, let's see here…" A list materialized in his paws. "Only two of them have dealt any significant damage."

"Two? I have only seen Mister Suzuki damage any of the monsters."

"You will be surprised! Our little drunk here has actually slain one of the monsters!"

Pepsi pointed at Pepon. She was confused at first, then embarrassed as everyone in the room looked at her.

"H-Hey! What are you talking about? I don't remember any of that!"

"It seems that as the lights went out, you went to search for a bathroom. While doing so, you have accidentally tripped and fell!"

"So, I have dealt damage, but to myself? Gosh, I'm so pathetic..."

"Not quite. You were lucky enough to smash your wine on a monster's head as you fell, accidentally killing it!"

"Oh." Pepon lowered her gaze. "I don't know if that makes it any better…"

"Nonetheless, you have slain one of the monsters. Congratulations! That puts you above half of your team, who have not slain a single beast during the test."

Pepsi glanced over the three men. Stevie buried his face in his hands, Naomi looked away with a frown, but Gabriel… His eyes were lit by the golden flame of determination. He felt no shame nor any guilt.

His feelings were the complete opposite of that.

"Oh?" Pepsi thought to himself as he saw Gabriel. "It looks like he is a tough nut to crack..."

Gabriel approached the king, again. The guards immediately rushed to his defense, aiming their halberds at the demon's throat.

Unbeknownst to them, Gabriel had no intentions of hurting the king.

He put a hand on his chest and addressed the king with the utmost respect in his voice.

"My lord, if I may!"

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"Speak." The king grunted hesitantly.

"It has come to my attention that during the test, Suzuki was allowed to use his custom-made weapon. I wish not to accuse thy highness of favoritism, but I believe it is unfair to judge our capabilities when one of us had a head-start."

"And what do you want? Should we hand you a weapon of your choice and run the simulation again? Do you know how much mana that requires?!"

This was the point where an average person would have backed down and apologized to the king. However, Gabriel was nothing like the average. His heart throbbed with relentless determination as his guardian will have found something new to defend: his and his companions' pride.

"I do not know the cost of this test, but I believe thy highness would not want to waste all that energy on something that defies the truth. My weapon of choice is a rapier. Steel, if you may. I believe it would only be fair if your highness would grant the same privilege to my companions too, and grant them a weapon based on their choice. Only when you do that will the tests show the truth!"

The entire room went silent. Nobody was expecting him to give an honest answer to the king.

Jonathan was not the kind of ruler that would kill people. His punishments either involved jail, but on rare occasions, the petty criminals got away with just some community service. In all regards, Jonathan the Second was known as the most progressive king that Astria has ever had.

However, for the first time, the nobilities of the room were not so sure about his patience. Maybe this would be the first time they could witness an execution under Jonathan's rule.

The patriotic guard stepped forth again to attack Gabriel, but this time with the sharp end of his weapon.

"How dare you, you piece of shit!"

The halberd flew straight towards Gabriel's neck, but he did not flinch.

"Stop!" The king raised his hand.

The weapon stopped just inches away from Gabriel's throat. The guard recoiled in surprise.

"My lord?" The guard asked before being ordered away.

The king let out a sigh. His face now bore a much more forgiving frown.

"Alright. We don't need another test. Pepsi, delete any data you have gathered! Tonight's dinner shall go on as if nothing had happened!" The king walked away, but not before giving Gabriel another glance.

"Thank you, my lord." Gabriel bowed respectfully.

The night went on the same as before with only a few exceptions. These were the number of women around Suzuki, which has experienced significant growth, and the chatter coming from Gabriel's desk, which has completely ceased.

There were other heroes in the room scouting for new members. Judging by their face, they were pretty disappointed. Suzuki was approached by some of them, but none have come close to Gabriel's desk.

Except for one.

A beautiful woman, around two meters in height, had approached them. She wore dusty, yellow clothes. Her skin was chocolate brown and there were symbols of cogwheels and other mechanical objects tattooed across her skin. Her long hair was orange-red and there were nuts and bolts glued to it.

Her cheerful smile was captivating, even for those that would not usually fall for a woman like her.

"Are you the new heroes the king has summoned?"

"Yes," Gabriel answered. "Are you interested in partnering with us?"

"Well, I'm looking for a girl called Pepon."

Upon hearing her name, Pepon raised her aching head off the table and waved at the figure.

"Hi."

"Ah, hello! My name is Electra. I saw your performance during the test and I thought you would be a perfect fit for my team!"

Pepon needed a moment to process that.

At first, she thought it was a joke and laughed so hard, that she nearly dropped to the floor.

But after she realized Electra was not laughing, she stopped.

"Wait, are you serious?!"

"That's right." Electra nodded. "I saw potential in your luck and I think it will greatly influence what kind of system you get. If you happen to become a mage, come to the heroes guild and look for a girl called Electra! Trust me, I won't be hard to find, hehe!"

The woman waved her goodbyes and walked away. The table was left confused, somehow asking even more questions than before that woman approached.

"A system?" Naomi asked. "Like in light novels?"

Pepon shook her head.

"I don't know and I don't want to think about it! Hey, where is the waiter! I need more wine to help me forget this night!"